Acme Packing Company
Welch returns after one year away from Green Bay.
Most free agent signings in late March will not be big, flashy, exciting names. On Friday, the Green Bay Packers signed a player who will probably earn the league minimum if he makes the team in 2025, and who is unlikely to move the needle much on the excitement meter for Packers fans.
However, Kristian Welch is a name that tune-in Packers fans should know, and the linebacker’s return to Green Bay should be a welcome one.
The Packers announced Welch’s signing on Friday afternoon, bringing back one of the team’s most impressive players from the 2024 preseason. After spending the 2023 season in Green Bay as a key special teams contributor, Welch did all he could to try to earn a spot on the 53-man roster last August. In the team’s three preseason games, he led the Packers with 16 tackles while collecting a pair of interceptions and a fumble recovery. However, with two top-100 rookie draft picks on the roster in Edgerrin Cooper and Ty’Ron Hopper, Welch found himself on the outside looking in on final cut-down day.
Two days later, the Denver Broncos signed Welch to their roster, and he played in six games for Sean Payton’s team before being released at midseason. He then signed with the Baltimore Ravens’ practice squad in October and received several gameday elevations before finally being promoted to the active roster in late November.
Welch ended up played in 15 games total last season, logging a total of 53 snaps on defense and 285 on special teams for those two franchises while recording 13 total tackles.
In all likelihood, Hopper’s draft selection cost Welch a job with the Packers last fall. His impressive summer performances suggested that he could be a useful depth linebacker in addition to a core special teamer. Hopper, meanwhile, played just 18 snaps on defense for Green Bay (all at the end of blowouts) and logged fewer special teams snaps (215) than Welch did.
With Eric Wilson signing with the Minnesota Vikings this offseason, an opportunity exists for Welch to make the team and earn a significant batch of playing time. Wilson logged 321 special teams snaps last season and more than 550 defensive snaps. Cooper looks like a lock to be an every-down linebacker next to Quay Walker and dominate that share of snaps on defense, but Welch should have another opportunity this summer to demonstrate that he deserves a depth and special teams role on the Packers’ roster in 2025.
